Something happens all of a sudden, your iPhone is disabled when you forget the password or upgrade to iOS 11. You can't use it or even access any of the data on it. while this is a nightmare situation for anyone, you should know that it can be fixed. The only problem is that there is only one way to re-enable it. The only way to get into a device that has been disabled is to erase it first.

This means that all of the data you had on the device that was not available on an iTunes or iCloud back up file will be deleted. In this article, we are going to share with you three different ways you can erase and recover data from a disabled iPhone.

Part 1: Common Situations Which Can Disable Your iPhone

You do not always have control over your iPhone may become disabled. It can be due to:

Entering the passcode wrong for a number of times (usually 10) can lead to the data being erased, and while that is a reasonable safety measure it can be problematic.

Your attempts to add a different iOS to the phone or modify it without authorization can also disable it and lead to data loss.

Part 2: Can I Recover Data from a Disabled iPhone?

That depends on different situations. If you are wondering how to recover data directly from a disabled iPhone, it is quite impossible. Luckily, if you have your phone synced with iTunes or iCloud or you have an alternative option of accessing these two databases, you may be able to recover it.

Part 3: Erase and Recover Saved Data to Disabled iPhone

Disabled iPhone has synced with iTunes before

Erase and Recover Data from Disabled iPhone using iTunes

If you have synced this iPhone or iPad with the computer before, you still have the possibility to make a backup of your iPhone with iTunes. Without this premise, you will be unable to make your iPhone trust the computer or unlock your device without a password, and you device will not be connected to iTunes successfully then.

Step 1: Open iTunes and connect your iPhone or iPad to this computer through USB cable.

Step 2: When your iPhone appears on iTunes, select it. Then you should click on the "Back Up Now" button to continue. When the backup process is finished, the iTunes backup file will be saved on the computer.

Then follow these simple steps to restore the device and hence enable it:

Step 1: Connect the iPhone to the computer you synced with and then wait for iTunes to sync with your device and create a backup.

Step 2: Once the sync is done, click "Restore iPhone" and once you get to the Setup screen while restoring the iPhone tap "Restore from iTunes backup." Select the latest backup to restore the device.

Erase your Device with Recovery Mode

If you hadn't set up Find my iPhone on iCloud or synced your device with iTunes, you can erase the device in recovery mode. Here's how to do it.

Step 1: Connect the iPhone to the computer and launch iTunes.

Step 2: Force the iPhone to restart. You can do that by holding the Sleep/Wake and the Home buttons down at the same time until you see the recovery screen. (For iPhone 7, you hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down Buttons)

Step 3: When you see the option to Restore or Update the iPhone popup in iTunes, choose "Restore" and iTunes will download the software for the device.

Step 4: Wait for the process to finish and then set up the device as new. If the process takes more than 15 minutes, the device will exit recovery mode and you need to start again.

Disabled iPhone has never synced with iTunes

If you've never synced with iTunes, you'll need to use recovery mode to restore your device. This will erase the device. Please make sure that you have set up Find my iPhone in iCloud before. Here's how to do it.

Part 4: Tips for Some Specific Situations with iPhone Disabled

1Tips for users whose iPhone is disabled due to forgetting screen passcode:

Phase 1: Unlock your device:

The methods to unlock your device have already been described as above. According to Apple officially recommendation, there are two ways to erase your iPhone without password. But you need know that if your device is erased, your current data will not be recovered directly. You must rely on your backup.

Phase 2: Recover data from disabled iPhone backup if losing data

If you have unlocked your device, you may need to restore your previous backup. Before restoring, you are not allowed to view the iTunes backup as you wish. Here iMyFone D-Back is highly recommended.

With D-Back, you are allowed to view the iTunes and iCloud backup before restore and extract them to computer for keeping them safe. Of course, if your lost data are not overwritten, you can try it to recover data directly from your device to computer.

Note: You may need to move to the advanced standard mode if this standard mode does not work. The chances of losing data are much higher, but you will always be able to restore to the latest backup.

3 Tips for users whose iPhone is disabled due to hardware issues:

If your device is hardware-disabled, we are sorry that the only way for you is to ask Apple Store for help. The above third-party software we have mentioned can only fix iOS system issues, which means the hardware issues on iOS devices are beyond its capacity. In this case, you'd better do to Apple Support to have a check.

Note: You should make a point to regularly backup your iPhone to PC or Mac using iMyFone D-Back iPhone Data Extractor in case you ever face such as emergency. It is a great way to get back to normal as fast as possible after data loss.

iMyFone D-Back is an essential tool which can be regularly used for data backup as well as recover data to computer to avoid data overwriting. So, make sure you attain the tool and prevent your iPhone from getting into sticky situations.